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Abstract

Nitric oxide is a cell signaling molecule that can be a potent inducer of cell death in cancers at elevated concentrations. Nitric oxide molecules are short-lived in vivo; therefore, NO-donating prodrugs have been developed that can deliver NO to tissues at micromolar concentrations. However, NO is also toxic to normal tissues and chronic exposure at low levels can induce tumor growth. We have designed a polymeric carrier system to deliver nitric oxide locoregionally to tumorigenic tissues. A highly water solubility and biodegradable 4-arm polymer nanocarrier, sugar poly-(6-O-methacryloyl-D-galactose), was synthesized using MADIX/RAFT polymerization, and utilized to deliver high concentrations of nitric oxide to xenografts of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The in vitro release of the newly synthesized nitric oxide donor, O2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) 1-[4-(2-hydroxy)ethyl]-3-methylpiperazin-1-yl]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate and its corresponding multi-arm polymer-based nanoconjugate demonstrated a 1- and 2.3-fold increase in half-life, respectively, compared to the release half-life of the nitric oxide -donor prodrug JS-K. When administered to tumor-bearing nude mice, the subcutaneously injected multi-arm polymer nitric oxide nanoparticles resulted in 50% tumor inhibition and a 7-week extension of the average survival time, compared to intravenous JS-K therapy (nitric oxide nanoparticles: CR=25%, PR=37.5%, PD=37.5%; JS-K: PD=100%). In summary, we have developed an effective nitric oxide anti-cancer chemotherapy that could be administered regionally to provide the local disease control, improving prognosis for head and neck cancers.